Cubs Promote Dustin Kelly To Hitting Coach
The Cubs are making a change at hitting coach, as Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic report that Greg Brown will not be returning to that role next year, though he was offered a different role within the organization. Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune adds that minor league hitting coordinator Dustin Kelly has been promoted to take Brown’s place and that Brown will leave the Cubs to pursue other opportunities.
The job has been remarkably volatile in recent years, with Mooney pointing out that the Cubs have employed 14 different hitting coaches since 2012. The Cubs have been rebuilding in recent years and have many young and developing hitters on the roster, meaning that they will be looking to help those youngsters maximize their potential while also providing some much-needed stability and continuity as they aim to be more competitive in the years to come.
Kelly has been in the organization for almost two years now and had spent the previous three years working with the minor leaguers of the Dodgers. In the past couple of seasons, Kelly has surely developed relationships with the young players that have been moving through the system. Whether those players are already in the majors or still working their way there, the Cubs are evidently impressed with the work he’s done and have quickly bumped him up to the show without any signs of having conducted a search of external candidates.
Cubs To Hire Greg Brown As Hitting Coach
The Cubs are planning to hire Greg Brown as their next hitting coach, report Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic. Brown has spent the past two seasons as the Rays’ minor league hitting coordinator.
This will be Brown’s first job on a big league coaching staff. The 41-year-old spent a few seasons in minor league and independent ball in the early-mid 2000’s before transitioning into his post-playing career. Brown spent two seasons scouting with the Astros before taking over as head coach at Division II Nova Southeastern University. He held that role for nine years, with his club winning the D-II national championship in 2016, before departing to join the Rays.
Brown replaces Anthony Iapoce, who was let go after four seasons as Cubs’ hitting coach last month. He’ll be tasked with overseeing a Chicago offense that’s in transition, much like the roster in general. Having shipped out much of the core of their 2016 World Series winner over the past year, the Cubs leaned heavily on minor league veterans down the stretch. The front office will presumably bolster the lineup externally somewhat this winter (although catcher Willson Contreras might be a trade candidate), but it seems likely they’ll also take another look at players like Frank Schwindel and Patrick Wisdom to see if they can find a potential late-blooming regular or two.